MINNEAPOLIS — Supporters and critics of a white Minnesota state trooper who’s charged with murder for killing a Black motorist confronted each other at a courthouse Monday in an exchange that was heated but peaceful, reflecting the strong emotions that the politically charged case has generated.

More than 300 people, including law enforcement officers from several agencies, gathered in the Hennepin County Government Center in solidarity with Trooper Ryan Londregan ahead of a pretrial hearing in his case. He’s charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and assault for fatally shooting Ricky Cobb II as Cobb tried to drive away from a traffic stop last summer. A similarly large crowd aligned with the Black Lives Matter movement shouted down an attempt by Londregan’s defense team to hold a news conference afterward.

“Trooper Londregan followed his training,” defense attorney Chris Madel was able to tell reporters. He noted that the defense team filed sworn declarations from four current and former troopers who say Londregan’s use of deadly force was justified. Madel also called for “a prosecutor who cares about the facts more than they do about yelling,” before the shouts of “Whose streets? Our streets” grew too loud.

“No good cops in a racist system,” the protesters also chanted. “No justice, no peace. Prosecute the police.”

Four former federal prosecutors from the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Steptoe LLC will be deputized to take over the case from the office of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty after the original leader of the prosecution team stepped away from the case, said Chris Freeman, managing attorney for the office’s adult prosecution division.

Freeman did not address news reports that Assistant County Attorney Joshua Larson had removed himself as lead prosecutor, but confirmed to Judge Tamara Garcia that Larson is no longer on the case.

Moriarty later said in a statement that she would retain full authority over the case and pay the attorneys out of her existing budget. She named Karima Maloney, Michael Bromwich, Ryan Poscablo and Steven Levin as the new team.

Law enforcement and Republican leaders have been calling on Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to take the case away from Moriarty, a former public defender who was elected on a platform of police accountability following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis officer in 2020, and turn it over to Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison. Walz has expressed concern about the direction of the case but has not acted.

In a jab at the incoming prosecution team, Madel told reporters they’d rather the case went to “somebody who cares about justice more than hourly fees.”

The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association organized a show of support for Londregan before the hearing. The crowd, including many people wearing T-shirts proclaiming his innocence, greeted him with loud cheers and sustained applause as he and his defense team entered the courthouse.

Troopers pulled the 33-year-old Cobb over on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis on July 31 because the lights were out on his car. They found that the Spring Lake Park man was wanted for violating a protection order in neighboring Ramsey County. Londregan arrived to assist. They were telling Cobb to get out when he shifted into drive and took his foot off the brake. Cobb’s car began to slowly move forward. Londregan reached for his gun. Cobb stopped. Londregan pointed his gun at Cobb and yelled at him to get out. Cobb took his foot off the brake again while another trooper’s torso was at least partially in the car. Londregan then fired twice at Cobb, striking him both times in the chest, the criminal complaint says.

Cobb’s family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit two weeks ago, alleging that the stop and shooting were unjustified.

The judge set two dates for future hearings. The new prosecution team will introduce itself to the court at 1:30 p.m. on May 15, and there will be a fuller hearing June 10 at 9 a.m. to set a trial date and discuss motions by the defense to dismiss the charges for lack of probable cause and alleged prosecution misconduct.

Arguing that the charges lack sufficient grounds, Madel noted during the hearing that the prosecution has yet to name an expert witness who could testify that Londregan’s actions weren’t justified. Garcia said they can discuss a deadline for disclosure of prosecution expert witnesses at the May 15 hearing.

The misconduct allegation includes the defense claim that the criminal complaint filed by prosecutors misrepresented statements by the Minnesota State Patrol’s lead use-of-force trainer, by omitting that expert’s conclusion that Londregan did nothing wrong.

MINNEAPOLIS — Several buildings on the University of Minnesota’s East Bank campus in Minneapolis are closed on Monday due to more pro-Palestinian demonstrations organized by students.

U officials announced early Monday afternoon that 13 buildings were closed at 2 p.m.:

• Coffman Memorial Union
• Ford Hall
• Hasselmo Hall
• Johnston Hall
• Kolthoff Hall
• Morrill Hall
• Murphy Hall
• Northrup Auditorium
• Smith Hall
• Tate Lab
• Vincent Hall
• Walter Library
• Weisman Museum

All other East Bank campus buildings will only be accessible to those with U Cards.

Organizers from UMN Divest announced on the rally’s flier, “The time for escalation has come.” They’re calling for U students, faculty and community members to attend Monday’s rally, which started at 2 p.m. outside Coffman Union. 

Protesters also demonstrated on campus over several days last week, with eight students and a faculty member arrested on Tuesday morning for setting up an encampment on the Northrup Mall.

Demonstrators are calling for the U to divest from companies they say are aiding Israel in its “ongoing genocide in Gaza,” including Boeing, General Dynamics, Honeywell and Lockheed Martin. They also want to ban those companies from recruiting on campus.

U officials released a statement on Monday’s rally and closures, saying in part:

“We recognize that with freedom of expression comes responsibility. Protesters are expected to uphold the safety of others, not interfere with normal campus operations, and adhere to student and employee conduct policies. We urge everyone who engages to remain nonviolent, peaceful, and follow both state laws and University policies, including restrictions prohibiting tents and encampments on campus. Discriminatory vandalism and defacements such as stickers and graffiti—some of which promote violence—are hurtful to many and violate University and Twin Cities campus policies.”

The Council of Graduate Students, an organization representing the U’s grad students, called the short notice ahead of Monday’s closures “unacceptable,” and described it as an “attempt to halt the exercise of free speech and a right to demonstration.”

“Not only are students, staff, and faculty being blocked from sites that they should have access to as members of this community, but additional steps like turning off water fountains and blocking restrooms show a commitment not to safety but to escalation against protesters,” the organization said in a statement. 

Similar protests have spread across college campuses over the past few weeks, resulting in hundreds of arrests. Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared the protests to rallies in Nazi Germany.

The demonstrations at the U have been unnerving for many Jewish students who fear the rhetoric used by protesters could lead to violence.

A former U staff member is also suing the school after she says she was fired for posting a pro-Palestinian message on Instagram.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry says more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in the aftermath of Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Last week, President Joe Biden signed an aid package to provide $26.4 billion to Israel.

This is a developing story. Stay with WCCO.com for more.

The small crowd eating wings and omelets at 3 a.m. inside the Nicollet Diner used to have a lot more choices if they wanted a casual overnight bite in Minneapolis. Now, this Loring Park spot is one of the only options in the city for a post-midnight meal.

“There just aren’t many places left to get something to eat this late,” said 25-year-old Myles Lamar on a Thursday after dark earlier this spring, seated with friends.

A growing number of Minneapolis businesses have pulled back on their late-night hours in the past couple of years, a trend that applies to grocery stores, convenience stores and restaurants that were once known for staying open all night, or at least close to it.

In interviews, managers, workers and a retail association president listed a few reasons for this drop in late-night offerings, including a decline in business, concerns over public safety and changes in consumer expectations in a post-pandemic world.

Sam Turner, the owner of the Nicollet Diner, said he also thinks it’s a troubling trend, and that it indicates Minneapolis isn’t offering the number of late-night amenities that should be expected in a major metropolitan city.

“If your flight lands in Minneapolis and you’re starving after checking into your hotel downtown at 3 a.m., you have zero options,” Turner said. “We’re an option, but that’s about the only one, and that’s just very rare for a city of our size.”

The change is also a blow to some who work nighttime shifts and hope to find something to eat other than fast food.

Sierra Jones, who had just finished her shift at a warehouse, was sitting with her husband at a booth at the diner around 2 a.m. They used to have a few go-to restaurants for a late-night meal, but their choices have narrowed to just the Nicollet.

“We could’ve gone to McDonald’s,” Sierra said, wincing at the thought, “but this is a good place to talk and we know the food is good.”

In Uptown, both the Walgreens on Hennepin Avenue and the Cub Foods on Lagoon Avenue switched in recent months from staying open overnight to closing at midnight. The Holiday gas station store, just north of Walgreens on Hennepin Avenue, recently backed up its closing time from 11 p.m. to 10 p.m.

At the Walgreens, overnight hours were removed in order to “accommodate customer and patient needs while optimizing staffing levels in the area,” a corporate spokesperson said in an email.

Walgreens employee Kendall Olivares said he isn’t sure what led to the reduction in hours, but he noted that staffing has been a challenge. There have also been instances where employees have felt unsafe approaching someone who is shoplifting, which Olivares said happens frequently. Since the reduction of hours in February, “a lot” of customers have told employees they miss the convenience of having a 24/7 Walgreens in the area.

The Uptown Diner, another late-night staple, curtailed its dine-in hours following the pandemic, and for the past several years only offered to-go food after 10 p.m. The diner resumed full 24/7 dine-in service this past summer when Taylor Swift performed in Minneapolis and created additional foot traffic, but that lasted only a few months, general manager Pablo Forero said. Earlier this month, the diner removed its overnight takeout option for Sunday through Thursday, and now goes dark after 11 p.m. on those days.

Forero said it didn’t make sense financially to continue offering late-night dine-in services due to a significant decrease in business.

“Ten years ago, I was seeing another ten- to fifteen-thousand dollars in a week,” Forero said.

With changes to the Uptown Cub Foods’ hours, all six locations in Minneapolis now close at midnight or 10 p.m. Some suburban Cub Foods stores, including in St. Louis Park and Bloomington, still stay open all night. Cub Foods’ owner, UNFI, said in a statement that the company reduced some stores’ hours as an “experiment to understand what would best serve customers.” The company did not answer additional questions.

The number of all-hours restaurants has also decreased nationwide by about 18% since just before the pandemic, according to data from Yelp. Los Angeles saw a much bigger drop, at 35%, while New York and Chicago saw more modest decreases. A quick Google search shows those cities still have significantly more round-the-clock restaurants than the Twin Cities.

Bruce Nustad, president of the Minnesota Retailers Association, said he thinks one factor is that consumers have become more accepting of a store changing hours since the COVID-19 pandemic forced most places to do so.

“Retailers just don’t always see as much pushback on hour changes that we used to, because consumers are more understanding and more flexible in their expectations,” Nustad said.

Some stores have also struggled to maintain enough staff, Nustad said, leading them to reduce hours to operate with a smaller workforce.

Concern about late-night crime is another factor.

“I’ve seen retailers say, ‘You know what? Instead of closing at 10, we’re going to close at 8 because we tend to see more problems in that later evening,’” Nustad said.

At the Uptown Diner, Forero said he thinks customers are becoming more concerned about crime in the area and are going to other parts of the metro to eat instead.

“It’s not like people ever steal from here or anything, but it does affect where people want to go out and eat,” Forero said.

Overall, violent crime decreased in Minneapolis in 2023. But in Uptown Diner’s neighborhood – Lowry Hill East – several crime categories spiked.

The neighborhood had 20 shooting victims last year, more than in any of the past five years. It has also seen a significant rise in gunfire reports, from 29 in 2019 to 109 in 2023. The number of aggravated assaults reached a five-year high, with 83 assaults in 2023.

Forero said it became necessary to pay for a security guard during the overnight hours, which made staying open late more costly. About a month ago, the diner did widen its hours, and now allows sit-down dining until midnight on Friday and Saturday and until 11 p.m. the rest of the week.

Turner offered a different opinion. He said it’s a false perception that Minneapolis has become especially dangerous, adding that he thinks a majority of city residents don’t have the same sentiment.

Instead, Turner said he thinks it’s important to have more foot traffic in the city and keep food establishments open late at night to combat that perception.

“If there were more activated spaces in downtown, I think that there would be a higher sense of safety when people come to visit,” he said.

Star Tribune staff writer Jeff Hargarten contributed to this story.